The differences between India and other countries were
apparent immediately. In Japan, the customs officers had been very
formal and meticulous, checking each passport and visa. Hong Kong
had been very fast, and we were able to leave immediately. Vietnam
had been rather disorganized. But nowhere was it as disorganized
as here. When the Indian customs officers came aboard, they were
greeted with cold cans of Budwiser and cigarettes. Which they lit
up in the nonsmoking cabin.
Many of us were not real happy about them smoking
in our floating tinder box, but rumor went around quickly that if we didn't
give them all these treats, they could delay entry for days. So we
beared it and waited.
I didn't spend enough time in Madras to make a fair impression, but from the little time I did spend there my impression was that everyone was staring at me. Not out of the corner of their eye - no, they would just turn their whole body and stare. That was rather disconcerting.
Day 2:
We left early the next morning for New Delhi,
capital of India. Here we saw the the capital of india, went to a
famous mosque, saw a lot of cows wandering around, and even saw an elephant
trekking through the street. Also, we visited the tomb of Gandhi,
where an eternal flame forever burns.
That evening Mark, Terry and I roamed around with some others looking for something to do. We failed. Nightlife doesn't exist in India, as far as we could tell. However, we were impressed in general with how much more relaxed and spacious things seemed here than in Madras.
Day 3:
We left the next afternoon (I think...
things are getting a bit mixed up now that years have gone by) and headed
to Varanasi, the age old religious holy land for Hindus. It's the
oldest city in existence - it has flourished for over 2000 years.
Why? Largely because there is no reason for invaders to destroy it.
It's merchandise is not of the material world, and the invaders saw no
reason to bother taking it over. Our hotel had a nice pool.
A fresh-water pool that didn't rock constantly. That was a nice change.
After we swam in it, Mark and I started a rumor that there was a giant
snake swimming in there, so I think everyone else stayed out of it the
first evening. (he he he)
We poked around in the town, but there wasn't
a lot to see. If people went to bed early in Delhi, then they went
to bed REAL early here. Highlight of that evening was crossing a
bridge in the dark that was only half constructed. It would have
been real easy to hurt ourselves.
The next morning we got up at 4:00 am (!)
and drove out to the river Ganges before dawn. We hopped on some
boats and rowed up the river as dawn broke over the over the land.
The second that sun rose, people all along the river started bathing like mad. It was an incredible site. The mood was festive - bands were playing, firecrackers were exploding everywhere, and saris of all the colors of the rainbow could be seen upon the riverbanks.
After the long bus
ride, we had completely revived ourselves. Therefore, we did what
we could to hit the ground running. After checking in at the hotel,
Terry, Mark and I took a taxi over to the Taj Mahal. "It's closed"
the taxi driver said over and over. "You can't get in now."
But we weren't going to be deterred by that mild fact. With rupees
in our pockets and courage in our hearts, (minds were empty, obviously)
we decided that yes, we were going to get into the Taj Mahal.
We began by trying
to bribe the guard at the front Taj gate. He just kind of looked
at us funny and kept saying "No." So after a few minutes of "come
on... how much?" we gave up. We wandered about 150 feet
to the left, and lookie there! Another entrance! This appeared
to be a stable for cows... maybe there was a way in through there.
We tried to bribe the guy guarding (tending) the cows, and he took our
10 rupees and then didn't let us in. (it was 50 ruppies for
3 dollars, so we weren't exactly breaking the bank.)
Not deterred in the
least, we then nimbly snuck around to the other side, near the back.
We were getting close, we could feel it! But alas, there didn't seem
to be an entrance anywhere. Finally, after standing around for a
while, we saw a few teenagers standing around, so we yelled over to them
how to get in the Taj Mahal. Down those stairs, they said.
Yes! We were in! The excitement was overwhelming as we slinked
down a dark set of stairs, turned the corner, and there was.... ammo?
Yes, Ammo. We had walked into a military garrison. Sleeping
troopers could be seen all around, as well as a large tent full of ammunition.
One guard was on duty, so we went to talk to him. We asked him if
he would let us in. Nope. How much, how much? we beckoned.
But he still wouldn't budge. So finally we got his name, and headed
back to the front.
At this point we got
sneaky. If that guard had enough sway... we went back to the guard
at the front, and said "yes, so-and-so said it was ok. You can let
us in." But sadly the indian guard staunchly refused to let us through.
At this point we looked
around for a wall to climb, but they were all too high. So we went
back to the hotel to get a few hours sleep before dawn. We
found out the next morning that there are over 100 armed guards stationed
around the Taj to protect it against terrorism. Maybe it's good we
didn't find any walls to scale after all.
Day 4:
The next day we got
up again at 4:00 in the morning and headed to see the Taj before dawn.
And man, what a site. If there's a more stunning, incredible, impressive,
beautiful temple or building anywhere in the world, I'd be amazed.
The Taj just grabs you and holds you. You keep looking at it, and
you feel like you could look at it forever and still not grasp its splendor.
It is just simply cool. Pictures don't do it justice. You have
to see it for real. Then you'll know what I'm talking about.
We spent a good part of the day there. Here's a group photo (I got there late, so my head can just be seen peaking over the top in the middle)
